About Patient Now

When you begin researching ways to market your plastic surgery practice, you likely will not get far before you start learning about the importance of incorporating social media into your marketing plan. Social media channels have become the go-to place for people to communicate with one another, as well as find new products and services they might be interested in using. Social media takes your marketing to the next level, allowing your patients and prospective patients to actually interact with you, rather than simply getting fed information that you provide. There are a number of reasons why PatientNOW is including social media services in our practice management software products.

Prevalence of Social Media

According to a 2013 survey published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, around half of all plastic surgeons were using social media to market their practices. Those numbers have likely increased in recent years, as more people are turning to social media in general and more social media channels are now available. This means that if you are not currently using social media to promote your practice, you are at a disadvantage to 50 percent or more of the practices marketing the same services you are.

How to Use Social Media Effectively

There are a number of steps you can take to not only incorporate social media into your practice marketing, but also to make the channels as effective as possible in your promotion efforts:

• Designate a Manager – Select someone in your office to manage your social media accounts or hire an outside source so that you have a single entity dedicated to keeping your sites up to date.

• Keep it Coming – Consistent posts are an essential component to any successful social media campaign.

• Respond to Comments – Show your patients and prospective patients how attentive your office can be by responding to questions and comments on your pages quickly.

• Establish a Policy – Since your social media pages will be reflecting your brand and your practice, establish some rules about what is and what is not acceptable to post on these pages.

Automating the Process

While social media can be an effective method of building your practice, it can also be a time- consuming one. Free up time for your staff by automating as much of your practice management as possible. With PatientNOW software implemented in your office, you can not only manage the daily patient flow and administrative duties, you can also increase your patient engagement and retention without using excessive and valuable staff time to make sure no one falls through the cracks.

What PatientNOW can do for You

In addition to our software products, PatientNOW also provides advantEDGE, consulting services to bring your practice to the next level. In addition to providing you the support necessary as you implement automation into your office, we also offer social media support to help you use social media channels as effectively as possible to market your practice.

Whether you are trying to improve the efficiency of your office through automated services or looking for ways to increase your patient engagement and retention, PatientNOW can help. Contact us today at 800-436-3150 to find out how we can help you bring your practice to the next level.

You know you need to have electronic medical records for your practice under federal regulations. You also know automating your practice management will make your practice run more accurately and efficiently. You are even aware that automation will mean more face-to-face time with your patients. What you don’t know is how easy it will be to integrate the necessary software and hardware into your practice.

The good news is integration of PatientNOW is easier than you might think. As long as you meet the proper technical requirements for implementation, the installation and integration should be relatively seamless. All of the technical requirements are listed clearly on our website to help you prepare for your new EMR and office management software.

Seamless Integration

PatientNOW integrates well with any plastic surgery practice because it was designed by plastic surgeons for plastic surgeons. The PatientNOW founder spent two years in a plastic surgeon’s practice to design software specifically for aesthetic medicine. This software is tailored for plastic surgeons, cosmetic dermatologists, and even medical spas.

Running Your Office

Because the software is specifically geared to aesthetic medical offices, the structure and features will integrate seamlessly into your practice. Specific features of the software include:

Once you discover how much more efficiently your office can run with automated management, you will wonder how you ever lived without it. These features can all be customized to your practice, allowing you to make the most of the software in terms of efficiency and practicality.

Serving Your Patients

Aesthetic medicine isn’t just about providing quality patient care – plastic surgeons and cosmetic dermatologists also have to be able to attract and retain patients and generate referrals to help their practice grow. For that purpose, we also provide patient acquisition and retention (PAR) software that gives you all the tools you need to track your patient inquiries all the way to their first and subsequent appointments.

The PAR software is like having another employee in your office with a perfect memory for every patient that contacts you with an inquiry to patients that require regular treatments to maintain their positive cosmetic results. This software will ensure that no patient inquiry falls through the cracks with automated follow-up that will make every prospective patient feel like a valuable addition to your practice.

In addition, PAR software increases your patient retention, by allowing you to establish campaigns and reward programs to incent your current patients to come back. You can automate reminders when it is time for patients to come in for their touch-up procedures or even acknowledge their birthdays with a special deal just for them. By connecting with your patients on a more intimate level, you will increase your retention as well as your word-of-mouth referrals you depend on from your current patients.

PatientNOW software offers everything you need to take your office management and patient service to the next level. Once your software is installed and up and running, you will see how advantageous it can be. Instead of hiring additional office staff to keep track of your prospective and current patients, your software will do the tracking for you. With features specifically designed for your type of practice, you will quickly see why PatientNOW is becoming a top choice in automated systems for plastic surgeons and cosmetic dermatologists across the country.

To learn more about your options in PatientNOW software, contact our office today at 800-436-3150.

Most physicians don’t put practice management at the top of the list for things they want to spend time doing. However, a successful practice depends on proper management, which starts at the top and trickles down through the entire staff. If you are at a loss on how you can take your practice management to the next level, PatientNOW has some tips for you to consider.

Go Paperless

The age of EMR is here, so why not embrace the electronic age as it can improve the efficiency of your practice. In addition to online patient records that are much faster to access and update, automated coding can be used to improve the speed and accuracy of your billing process. Patients can check and update their information from the comfort of home or any location, while you no longer have to keep patients in your waiting room filling out reams of paperwork.

Increase Your Scheduling Efficiency

Your patient schedule can be easier than ever before, thanks to automated systems for scheduling, tracking and even sending appointment reminders. Automated scheduling makes it easy to track your patients for the purpose of building loyalty as you customize your engagement to the unique needs of each patient. Automated reminders significantly reduce your number of patient no-shows, increasing your office efficiency and your revenue.

Automate Your Processes

Scheduling isn’t the only type of automation you can implement to increase your practice’s efficiency and productivity. With the right tools, you can ensure none of your patient inquiries fall into the cracks by providing automated follow-up to all contacts. You can also provide the necessary follow-up for current patients to remind them to schedule maintenance treatments or alert them to other procedures they might be interested in.

Incent Your Patients

As your office becomes more streamlined and efficient, you will have more time to devote to marketing strategies that will help you build your practice. With the help of the right software, you can set up regular communication with your patients to alert them to specials or new procedures offered at your office. You can also establish a reward program for regular patients to encourage them to come in for regular maintenance treatments.

Incent Your Staff

The efficiency, professionalism, and patient-friendliness of your office will only be as good as the staff you hire. Once you have brought on the best people to run your practice with you, keep them in top form with incentives that demonstrate your practice’s priorities and commitment to patient service and care. By rewarding the office staff that treat your patients best, you show the entire staff the importance of serving patients at the highest level. In addition, devote more time to training your staff so they are equipped with all the tools they need to keep your office at peak level.

Automation of all your processes begins with the right tools for the job. PatientNOW has the tools you are looking for with software that will help you increase the efficiency of your office as well as your patient acquisition and retention. With the ability to customize all of our products to your unique needs, you can rest assured your office will be in good hands and you can dedicate more time to caring for your patients and less to sitting in front of your computer.

To learn more about the software options available through PatientNOW, contact us today at 888-644-2987.

Plastic surgery has brought a whole new level to patient engagement, as practices are discovering it is much more cost-effective to keep current patients than to attract new ones. Cosmetic treatments lend themselves well to the concept of patient engagement since many require ongoing maintenance procedures to keep up results. Patients may also choose to explore other options in aesthetic procedures as they see the positive results from their initial treatments. PatientNOW has five effective ways to maximize patient engagement to increase patient volume and your revenue flow.

Emphasize the Benefits of Your Patient Portal

The patient portal is a way for your patients to take charge of their cosmetic treatments and gain the information necessary to make good choices about their aesthetic care. Make sure your patients are familiar with your portal and know how to use it to manage their records and communicate with your staff. The portal is also a way to increase your administrative efficiency as patients can manage their personal information online rather than over the phone or in your office.

Kick up Your Office Efficiency

Automation is the key to upping your efficiency level so you can spend more time with your patients and less in front of a computer screen. The right practice management software will allow you to automate appointment reminders, color-code appointments and even track patient requests. When you can synch this software to your mobile devices, you can take your office with you wherever you go, for even greater convenience and streamlining ability.

Enhance Patient Follow-Up

Plastic surgeons get numerous inquiries from prospective patients every week and it is important not to let any of those inquiries fall through the cracks if you are to make the most of your marketing efforts. Automating patient follow-up will ensure every patient receives the attention necessary to take the next step and book an appointment. In addition, automation can help you reach your current patients with other procedures they might be interested in or to remind them of upcoming maintenance treatment needs.

Make Use of Ongoing Communication

Communication is an important element in building a positive, long-lasting relationship between a plastic surgeon and patient. Patients should have access to your office for asking questions or sharing concerns, while you will want to keep your patients abreast of new procedures you might be offering or special offers from your practice. A monthly newsletter is one way to keep lines of communication open with your patients, which can easily be generated online using your patient portal and your patient engagement software.

Help Your Patients Save Money

The cost for elective procedures comes directly out of your patient’s pocket, so anything you can do to make the process more affordable will build patient loyalty and word-of-mouth referrals. Reward programs are a good way to give your regular patients a break on the cost of their procedures and can be easy to implement with patient engagement software designed for this purpose. Monthly specials can also be conveyed through your regular communication channels like your newsletter, which will bring in both patients that get those treatments regularly and those that want to try out a procedure for the first time.

It takes more than skill and experience to build a healthy plastic surgery practice today. Patient engagement is a key component to both patient retention and acquisition through word-of-mouth referrals. To learn more about how our software solutions can take your patient engagement to the next level, contact PatientNOW today at 888-644-2987.

Electronic medical records are much more than a regulation to comply with, they are actually away to bring your practice to the next level of efficiency and productivity. Plastic surgeons and dermatologists, in particular, can reap the benefits of EMR as it relates to patient acquisition and retention. In addition, the automated features of the right software will get you away from your computer and face-to-face with your patients, building relationships and providing the highest level of care. Check out some of the benefits of EMR when you make the most of this valuable – and necessary – tool today.

Convenient Scheduling

Scheduling can be much faster and easier with EMR. In addition to color-coded scheduling that makes it easy to see your patient list at a glance, you can use your EMR to send out automated patient reminders of upcoming appointments. This will significantly reduce your cancellations and no-shows, which is as good for your revenue as it is for the daily operation of your office. In addition, patients will be able to complete and submit paperwork online prior to their first appointment, making the introduction of new patients to your practice that much easier.

Safe, Efficient Prescribing

Electronic prescriptions are the wave of the future today and for good reason. Online prescribing allows for easier tracking of controlled substances and potential interactions with other medications your patient is currently taking. Electronic prescribing also ensures you and your patients are alerted to potential drug allergies. This procedure takes prescriptions right from your office to the pharmacy with less room for delays and prescribing errors.

Effective Patient Retention

You probably already know it is much more cost-effective to keep the patients you have rather than having to fill up your patient base regularly. EMR makes patient retention easier than ever if you know how to use it wisely. This technology automates the process of sending patients reminders when they are due for their next treatment, increasing office visits for you. You will also be able to more effectively track referrals to ensure none of those prospective patients slip through the cracks.

Enhanced Patient Engagement

Ongoing interactions with your patients is another good way to up your retention rates and EMR can make that process easier than ever. Use your software to send out blasts about your latest specials or new procedures you are offering. Develop a monthly newsletter to keep your patients in the loop of your practice happenings. Set up a rewards program for patients that come in for regular cosmetic treatments, giving them the incentive they need to set up that next appointment.

The Value of a Paperless Office

You may be apprehensive about the idea of a paperless office, but it won’t take you long to see the value of this new system. Storage of patient files no longer has to take a significant amount of space, while obtaining those files will be as easy as pushing a few keys on your computer. Coding for insurance billing will also be at your fingertips, as well as sharing information with other physicians and pharmacies.

EMR can be a huge adjustment for any medical practice, but most physicians find that the value of the system can be seen fairly quickly as your staff gets up to par with the new software. If you are looking for EMR software that can give you exactly what you need to bring your practice to the next level, contact PatientNOW at 888-644-2987.

Electronic prescriptions are now mandated in the state of New York and other states are poised to follow suit. Is your plastic surgery practice ready for e-prescribe? With many benefits to offer and mandates looming, now is the time to embrace electronic prescribing by selecting the software program that will make the process safe, efficient and easy for all appropriate members of your practice to learn and use.

Benefits of E-Prescribe

There are many potential benefits to an e-prescribe system. For the physician, benefits include:

This process can be particularly beneficial for plastic surgeons and their patients since the relationship between the two is often limited to the aesthetic procedures. Plastic surgeons get instant access to the patient’s full medication history, ensuring medications they prescribe will not cause any harmful interactions. This process is much more thorough and accurate than simply asking patients to list the medications they are currently taking from memory.

Components of E-Prescribe

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services names three basic components in the e- prescribing process:

Prescriber – Authorized members of your practice should be able to get into the eRx system with a username and password. You can also add additional identification tools to make your system even more secure. Once in the system, you should be able to review your patient’s medication history, prescribe new medication and choose the pharmacy where the prescription will be filled.

Transaction Hub – This is the link between the prescriber, the pharmacy and the pharmacy benefits manager. The hub will determine patient eligibility for the prescribed medication, based on the patient’s complete medication history, and send that information back to the prescriber.

Pharmacy – Once the pharmacy receives the prescription from the transaction hub, the prescription can be filled. Pharmacies can also set up alerts to let providers know when prescriptions are picked up, allowing for better patient care and tracking involving medications.

Why Choose RxNow?

For plastic surgeons looking to get ahead of the compliance train, PatientNOW offers e-prescription functionality with our RxNow feature. This tool is fully compliant with the federal mandates and is easy enough for everyone in your office to learn quickly. In addition to its efficiency and user-friendliness, RxNow offers superior security to keep your patients’ information safe and private. RxNow is a part of our medical practice software designed to keep your entire practice running efficiently and give you more face-to-face time with your patients.

E-prescribing may not be a mandate in your state yet, but rest assured that mandate will be coming soon. Get RxNow implemented in your practice now and you will be fully compliant before the mandate goes into effect. To learn more, contact PatientNOW at 888-644-2987.

According to HIPAA expert and Medical Risk Management Founder & President, Michael Sacopulos, patientNOW is the only EMR / Practice Management and Patient Engagement vendor in the country to provide an automated software solution that captures texts between the patient and the office, both incoming and outgoing, and files them directly in the patient’s medical record. “This is exciting new technology that is beneficial in several ways,” Sacopulos believes. He goes on to point out that capturing texts in the patient’s chart, “Improves HIPAA compliance and decreases professional liability.”Read more

Acquiring new patients is one of the biggest challenges many practices face, but once you have a new patient booked for a treatment, how can you make sure they will come back? Implementing a system that increases the life cycle of each patient is an important part of practice management, and one area that many managers overlook. Focusing on improving patient relations can make it easier to retain patients so that you don’t have to spend more time and resources marketing to new patients.

Managing paper records and documents for your patients can be time-consuming and can be a security risk. Many practice managers find it challenging to keep paper records up-to-date and ensure that all paperwork is free of medical errors. Making the switch to an EMR can streamline many of your medical practice’s daily activities and also save you time and money in the long-run. Here are some of the ways an EMR can benefit your practice:Read more